International School Manila
ES PARENT BULLETIN
Volume 19
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
MAY
All CMC books due. CMC will be closed
22
for inventory after this date,
29 Last Day of After School Activities
JUNE
2 Distribution of Report Cards
Grade 4 Moving On Ceremony @ 8-9am,
Fine Arts Theatre
Grade 5 Moving On Ceremony @ 10-11am,
4
Fine Arts Theatre
Early Student Release @ 12 noon
End of 2nd Semester
One-Page School Calendar
for Next School Year
(SY 2009-2010)
is now available on page 6 and in the
ISM Website. Please visit
www.ismanila.org and click on News &
Calendar to download the file or you
may type this url in your web browser:
http://www.ismanila.org/_Rainbow/images/
default/FINAL_2009_2010_Calendar_
(12May2009).pdf
15 May 2009
From the ES Administration
Dear Elementary School Parents,
Next week will be our final individual class newsletter, fol-
lowed by one more parent bulletin from me… Where did
the school year go? At this time I would like to update you
on our faculty changes for next year.
We will be saying farewell this year to Cecille Higgins
(ECLC), Veronika Mihalj (Art), Anna Pellum (Music) and
Lindsay Perry (Physical Education)… We wish these four
teachers all the best as they begin new adventures around
the world and thank them for their time at ISM.
Along with these three departing teachers, we will have
some movement within the school… As you know grade 5
will be moving to Middle School, along with Ximena Moreno
(MS Spanish), Tara Collins (grade 5), and Clayton Heggie
(ESL). Within ES, Michael Rourke will be joining me as As-
sistant Principal, Rebecca Pierce will be moving to the CMC,
Susan Powers will join the grade 2 team, Liz Hines will move
up to grade 4 ESL, Joanna McElhinney will be part of grade 4
and Rosie Lenehan will move to grade 4 as program leader.
We will be welcoming back to ISM Nat Ayling to PreSchool,
Monica Atkinson to grade 2 ESL, and Gina (Manhit) Stavert
to grade 4. New to our ISM Elementary School will be
Krista Plank in ECLC, Ilana McGrath in grade 3, Marnie
Hurst in Music, Matthew O’Farrell in Physical Education, and
Rachael Huelskamp to Learning Support.
Before the start of the new school year I will be sending out
a letter to welcome everyone back. Sectioning cards with
your child’s teacher for next year will be available on the last
day of school. Report cards will be distributed on June 2.
Students in grade 4 and 5 will be receiving an envelope to
take home with their individual ERB external writing assess-
ment results.
Yours in Education,
Simon Gillespie
Elementary School Principal
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 15 May 2009

From the PE Department

With the holidays not too far away this article is worth reading!
Tips to Help Families Reduce “Screen Time” and Be More Active!

You may be asking “What’s screen time?” Well….the more time you spend in front of the television,
computer, and video screen, the less time you spend being physically active….so, turn off the
screens and get moving!

√ Keep the TV off during dinner. Meals are a great time for conversation.
√ For special events such as birthdays, buy your children sports equipment or an active
game instead of another computer or video game.
√ Never use TV or computer as a reward or punishment
√ Place clear limits on TV watching. Explain your rules in positive, simple terms. Try
replacing “Turn off the TV” with “Let’s turn off the TV so we can…..” One hour a
day is a good guideline.
√ Remove the TV set from your child’s bedroom. A TV in the bedroom draws children
away from the family activities and distracts them from homework, thinking, read-
ing, and sleeping.
√ Replace some of the family TV watching time with more active pursuits. Try a family
swim. If you don’t feel like going out, put on some music and dance.
√ Avoid using the TV and computer as a babysitter. Involve children in meal prepara-
tion and household chores to encourage physical activity, responsibility and empa-
thy.
√ Listen to a sports event using a radio, as an alternative to watching on TV. Your kids
will be surprised how much fun this can be!
√ Don’t worry if children claim “I’m bored” For children, boredom often leads to crea-
tivity and active play. Be patient!

Benefits of Reduced Screen Time

· More family time
· More time, reading, thinking, creating, doing!
· Less media influence!
· More time for fun and play
· And of course, better health.

These tips are from a Canadian initiative to encourage activity. Click here for more information.
Canada Energyinenergyout (http://ottawa.ca/residents/health/living/eieo/index_en.html)

2
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 15 May 2009

From the Admission Office From the Treasury Office

Dear ISM Parents, Dear Parents:

Greetings from the Admission Office! The Re-Enrollment Re- Please note a change (in bold below) in the payment of the
quirements for School Year 2009-10 will be available for $1,000 deposit for company sponsored Students under Re-
pick-up in the Admission Office starting next week. All of the enrollment Clearance Form for SY09-10 for STEP2 – De-
generic re-enrollment forms are ALSO available on the website if posit Payment:
you wish to download and print the forms from there. The forms
Step 2: DEPOSIT PAYMENT. To guarantee a place for the
can be found under Admission and then under the Re-
coming school year, the Cashier must receive $1,000 or its
Enrollment & Withdrawal tab.
equivalent payment, on or before May 15, 2009. This de-
posit will be applied to the tuition for the first semester.
The complete Re-Enrollment Packet will include the…
Except for US Embassy & ADB (Cashier’s signature still
1. Re-Enrollment Clearance Form for SY2009-10 (2-pages)
required), parents and other companies with sponsored
for each child in the family.
students are directly responsible for the payment. If the
2. Health Clinic Clearance Procedure (1-page) letter
student subsequently withdraws, the enrollment deposit
3. Health Clinic Updating Form (2-pages) for each child in
will be refunded via a graduated refund guideline
the family
(available at the Cashier’s Office for review). No refund is
4. Tuberculosis Screening Form (2-pages) for students enter-
available within two weeks prior to the opening day of
ing Grades 1, 5, or 9
school.
5. Parent and School Shared Agreements (4-pages) form for
each child in the family
6. OPTIONAL Board Proxy Form (1-page) for each family
7. OPTIONAL PTA Directory Form (1-page) for each family

URGENT…if you know that your child(ren) will not be returning to ISM for the 2009-10 school year, please inform the Ad-
mission Office as soon as possible if you have not already done so. We currently have very few families indicating that they
will not be returning and consequently there are an ever growing number of applicants in a WAITPOOL for possible open-
ings. This is causing great distress and anxiety in those families (and in the Admission Office). If you are sure that your
child will be leaving ISM, please submit a Withdrawal Notification Form or contact and verify with the Admission Office
(840-8488) that he/she is listed as not returning for SY2009-10. The Withdrawal Notification Form can be obtained from the
Admission Office or from the ISM website under the Admission tab and then click on Re-Enrollment & Withdrawal. This
will be a great help for our planning and to the many families waiting to be admitted to the school. Thank you.

From the Uniform Shop

VAT EXEMPTION FOR DIPLOMATS

To our valued clients,

Hate to wait and
be in a long line?!?
Purchase your uniforms in
advance for School Year
2009-2010…
Just visit the ISM Uniform
Shop at Room P069
(beside the Security Office)
every Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 7:00a.m.
to 4:00p.m.
See you there!!!
All diplomats who would like to avail of VAT exemption in the Uniform Shop
should submit the following requirements in order for us to process the exemp-
tions:
1. Certified true copy of the VAT Exemption Certificate (VEC) signed by the
authorized officer and/or
2. VAT Exemption Identification Card (VEIC) signed by the authorized officer
Due dates for submission are June 4th for first semester (July 2009 to Decem-
ber 2009) and December 1st for second semester (January 2010 to June 2010).
Please take note that the Uniform Shop may not be able to extend any VAT dis-
counts without the requirements listed above.
Thank you very much.

Uniform Shop Management

3
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 15 May 2009

From the School Clinic

Dear Parents,

Whilst recent indications are that the predicted pandemic of H1N1 influenza virus may not have such severe
consequences as originally feared, we still have a responsibility to take reasonable precautions to prevent it
entering the school community. For this reason, we would like to remind all parents not to send their chil-
dren to school if they are ill and to advise the school doctor if anyone in the family has become ill with flu-like
symptoms. Children will be sent home if they become ill at school.

As usual, if a child has an unexplained fever (either flu related or not), the child should remain at home. If
the child develops a fever at school, the parent will be requested to collect their child and take them home or
to their own doctor.

These ‘common sense’ precautions apply to everyone. If parents are unsure as to whether or not to send a
child to school they should contact the School Clinic. The direct number for Dr Mary Ann Bagos, the school
doctor, is 840 8580.

Thank you for assisting us in maintaining the good health of the ISM community.

ISM Clinic Staff

IMMUNIZATIONS
It is coming up to the time of year when many of you will pay a return
visit to the countries you call home. One of the jobs which is often on
the list of things to complete when you are at home is updating your
child’s immunizations. For your reference, I have included links to US
immunization schedules for 0-6 years and 7-18 years of age. Whilst
not everyone has used the US system, it is very similar to most com-
prehensive immunization schedules in developed countries world
wide. In addition, we recommend people living in the Philippines have
the typhoid vaccination. The hope is that this will prompt everyone, no
matter where they are this summer, to ensure that their children are
up-to-date with their immunizations. If in doubt, please check with
your doctor. We love our children, let’s keep them safe!

Best wishes for a happy, healthy summer, from the Clinic.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/2009/09_0-6yrs_schedule_pr.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/2009/09_7-18yrs_schedule_pr.pdf

4
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 15 May 2009

From the Operations & Security Department

A MESSAGE FROM
THE OPERATIONS AND SECURITY DEPARTMENT

I. IDs for the New School Year

Parent IDs ANNOUNCEMENT!

Current parent IDs will continue to be valid for the new LOST AND FOUND VIEWING
school year 2009-2010.

Parents who require replacement school IDs due to loss EVERYDAY

or damage can acquire these from the Security Office upon pay- Monday to Friday
ment of Php100.00 to the Cashier. May 18
18--22, 2009
7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Student IDs
FAT changing room 1118
All students will be issued with new ID cards at the begin-
ning of the new school year. To facilitate this they should visit the Items uncollected after this
security office before the end of the current school year for the time will be disposed of in
taking of their photograph. support of our Service
Learning Program.
School Passes

School passes issued to parent’s employees and representatives need to be replaced for next school
year. As of August 31, 2009 the blue bordered passes will be invalid.

The security office is now accepting applications for new school passes, however the cards will not be
available for collection before July 1, 2009.

Each family will be given two free school passes. Additional school passes may be obtained after paying
a processing fee of Php100.00 each to the Cashier’s Office.

2, Car Stickers for the New School Year

The car stickers for school year 2009/2010 will be available from the security office beginning July 1,
2009.

For vehicles already displaying an existing sticker, parents should submit a completed renewal form with
a copy of a current LTO official receipt. For new vehicles, parents are reminded that a copy of the vehicle’s cer-
tificate of registration and a current official receipt need to be submitted with the application. Applications for ve-
hicles registered with companies or other institutions should be supported by a letter of assignment.

Each ISM family will be issued one vehicle sticker free of charge. Any additional stickers will be issued
following payment of P100 to the cashier’s office.

I would like to thank all members of the ISM community for their cooperation across this school
year in helping us maintain ISM as a safe and secure environment for our children.

M I KE FLYNN
Director of Operations
and Security

5
Elementary School Parent Bulletin 15 May 2009

From the Superintendent’s Office